Last reviewed: 1 March 2025 Next review: 1 March 2028

Orchard House School has a set of core values; these values underpin all work within the school and how individuals treat each other.

Ethos

The ethos underpins the aims of the school and runs through every aspect of school life. In the course of their daily work, all members of the school community contribute to the development of this ethos by:

Providing a child-centred, forward-looking educational philosophy.
Treating each child as an individual and nurturing individuality, offering both challenge and support.
Valuing all members of the school and wider community equally, showing mutual respect and concern for others.
The provision of a friendly and welcoming environment, in which courtesy, kindness, respect and teamwork are fostered.
The provision of a welcoming, happy, safe and supportive environment.
Valuing and celebrating success and achievement, in all spheres.
Cultivating a culture to help instil resilience and perseverance.

Aims

To provide supportive teaching and challenging work, which takes into account the progress and individual needs of children.
To offer a broad-based curriculum, including extra-curricular activities, in order to facilitate the acquisition of appropriate knowledge and skills.
To equip pupils with the necessary skills for the future to become active, confident and responsible members of a rapidly developing society.
To enable all pupils to reach their potential across all areas of the curriculum, thereby becoming learners who value learning with, and from, others and who develop a positive attitude to learning.
To achieve excellence and success through the whole school community working together, valuing teamwork and cooperation.
To encourage children to think creatively and form their own ideas.
To teach that mistakes are not failures and use these as teaching opportunities.
To place a high value on the effort that children put into an activity.
To respect the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty.
To share good practice, supporting work experience placements and students on teaching practice.
To develop a sense of moral values in pupils in preparation for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society.
To nurture creativity.
To appreciate human achievements, failures and aspirations.
To develop in pupils a range of desirable personal qualities such as politeness, concern for others, initiative, independence and resilience.
To have effective management, leadership and communication at all levels.
To maintain the highest professional standards.
To foster close relationships between school and home, valuing the contribution of parents.

The ethos and aims outlined above also underpin the school’s schemes of work and subject aims and objectives as well as all school policies.

This policy conforms with the requirements of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.